MURAB

The aim of the EU-funded research project MURAB is to improve the diagnosis of breast cancer.

The EU research project MURAB, "MRI - and ultrasound robotic assisted biopsy" is committed to better cancer diagnostics. With the support of the KUKA lightweight robot LBR Med, the precision and effectiveness of biopsies will be improved. For example, robot technology can be used to reduce expensive magnetic resonance tomographies and replace them with equally precise robot techniques.

"A robot-controlled ultrasound scanner based on the LBR Med scans the target area autonomously, captures volumetric and elastographic data and transfers them to the preoperative MR image. The radiologist then selects the target of the biopsy on the mixed image and the robot steers the biopsy needle exactly into the desired position," says Dr. Felix Allmendinger, project manager at KUKA Group Research. In the project, all the necessary components will be developed and networked: from various imaging methods and the simulation of tissue deformations to the planning and control of robot movements to support tissue removal.